Meaning & use
vivid
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Producing a very clear and detailed picture in the mind, as with a memory, dream or description.
Grammar: Goes before a noun or after a linking verb: a vivid memory; the memory is vivid.
She has a vivid memory of her first day at school.
His vivid description made me feel I was there.
I had a vivid dream about flying over the ocean.
adjectivecomparable
Very bright, strong and intense in color or light.
Grammar: Describes colors and light: vivid green.
The parrot had vivid blue and yellow feathers.
The sunset was a vivid orange.
She wore a vivid red scarf.
adjectivecomparable
Full of life, energy or imagination.
Grammar: Often describes imagination or character: a vivid imagination.
The child has a vivid imagination.
The novel gives a vivid portrait of life in the 1920s.
Her vivid personality filled the room.
Word forms
| comparative | more vivid |
|---|---|
| superlative | most vivid |
Common combinations
- vivid imagination
- He has a vivid imagination and invents wild stories.
- vivid memory
- I have a vivid memory of the storm.
- vivid colors
- The painting is full of vivid colors.
- vivid description
- Her vivid description of the trip made us laugh.
- vivid dream
- A vivid dream woke her at night.
- vivid reminder
- The photos are a vivid reminder of that summer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- graphic
- Graphic describes detail that is very explicit, often including unpleasant things, while vivid is more neutral and focuses on clarity and life.
- bright
- Bright refers mainly to light or color, whereas vivid also covers memories and descriptions.
- lifelike
- Lifelike means seeming real, mostly for pictures or models, and does not describe intensity of color.
- striking
- Striking means drawing attention for being unusual, while vivid emphasizes clarity or strength.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: vivid or vivacious? vivid or lucid?
vivid vs vivacious
Vivacious describes a lively person, while vivid describes colors, images, and memories.
vivid vs lucid
Lucid means clear and easy to understand, as in lucid writing, whereas vivid means strong and detailed.
Practice
Even after twenty years she could give a ___ account of the day they met.
Choose one answer.
Vivid means clear and full of detail, matching the remembered day. Faint and vague are the opposite, and brief says nothing about clarity.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vivid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.